IT’S AS easy as riding a bike is a phrase we use casually to imply that something is very simple.

But what happens if you don’t find it easy to ride a bike? The new series of Dr Who features such a character – Ryan Sinclair, played by Tosin Cole, one of the new Doctor’s assistants.

He can’t ride a bike. The reason, we’re told, is that he is dyspraxic. Dyspraxia, now called developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), is not uncommon, affecting about one in ten and some people may have a mild form without really noticing.

Broadly speaking it causes a child or adult to perform less well than expected in daily activities for his or her age and they appear to move clumsily.

Ball games can be an issue, such as catching a ball, hitting one accurately with a bat, or kicking a ball with precision. Making one of the the new male assistants to Jodie Whittaker’s brilliant characterisation of the newly incarnated Dr Who dyspraxic echoes real life. Boys are three to four times more likely to be dyspraxic than girls. Dyspraxia is one of three commonly misunderstood disorders. The other two, dyslexia and dyscalculia, can affect a person’s literacy or numeracy skills.

Dyslexia is the most widely known disorder, but many people are unaware of exactly what it is, beyond “difficulty with reading”. That description is problematic.

Dyslesxia covers a wide range of processing issues. Being dyslexic doesn’t mean being unable to read. Generally, dyslexia is associated with poor spelling, confusing similar letters, for example seeing a “b” for a “d” or vice versa. But it can be a quite different set of characteristics, such as difficulty with planning and organisation, carrying out a sequence of actions, or general slowness with reading and/or writing. It’s been estimated that up to ten per cent of the population will have some form of dyslexia.

People with dyscalculia have difficulty understanding simple number concepts, lack an intuitive grasp of numbers, or have problems learning number facts and procedures. It doesn’t mean they can’t do maths, but it may take longer to process the information and come to a correct answer.

One thing all three conditions have in common is that none of them are related to a lack of intelligence. It’s often the case that people with one or more of these disorders have other highly developed and effective skills, such as creative thinking and problem solving. In many cases, people with dyslexia have risen to the top in management posts or started very successful companies, such as Sir Richard Branson who founded Virgin or Theo Paphitis from Dragon’s Den.

I’ve taught many children and adults with one or more of these disorders. I’ve seen it in people who were unaware that the problems they experienced were diagnosable. Many older people remain undiagnosed as they weren’t recognised in their childhood.

It’s possible to make adjustments to help people deal with a specific condition. This includes speech recognition software and developing systems to help with organisation. Things like frameworks for note taking or breaking down difficult movements into much smaller parts and practising them regularly are simple, yet effective ways of helping.

How do these disorders develop in the first place? That’s a question science cannot, as yet, fully answer. We know that they can run in families, this tells us that there is likely to be a genetic component. In the case of dyspraxia, there are some risk factors that can increase the chances of a child developing the condition, such as a low birth weight, premature birth (before 37 weeks), drinking alcohol or taking drugs during pregnancy.

Dyslexia is more associated with a genetic cause and it’s thought that certain combinations of genes could affect brain development in early life. Less is known about the potential causes of dyscalculia.

There are those who insist that such conditions don’t exist and that they have been invented to cover up for poor teaching in schools. Others see such conditions as a middle-class excuse for lazy children. Neither of these arguments convince me. Having seen and worked first-hand with children and adults who have struggled with one or more of these disorders, I know that recognising them and putting in place simple remedies can make a huge difference.

This Saturday, James Williams will be taking part in “Dead Talks” as part of the Brighton Science festival, by sticking his neck out for Lamarck.

Dead Talks: 7.30pm to 9pm at the Sallis Benney Theatre, 58-67 Grand Parade, Brighton. Tickets cost £6